The plan, Plan A that is, was to leave on Wednesday for a full 4 week trip to Austria and Switzerland.

On Saturday Bob tweaked his back and was very wary of setting off in a 3.5 ton motorhome for an initial 250 mile drive when he couldn't stand up straight. So Plan B it is giving Bob's back a couple of extra days to recover itself and meaning he's been able to do the mauling about that he needs to do to get us on the road.

So Tandy is now packed to the gills; the garden is tidy; the birds are fed and have been warned that when it's gone, it's gone; my Folksy shop is in holiday mode; my glass studio is (vaguely) tidy and all I need to do is switch this laptop off , get a night's sleep and off we go.

First stop will of course be France as, as usual we will take the Chunnel. Should arrive at our first stop just near Calais in good time for a swim in the lovely pool. After that we will be heading South and East towards Bavaria and then the Austrian Alps. Had

such a superb trip in June last year to Germany and Austria we fancied something similar this year too. Bob has planned train excursions, mountain trips and a lake or two. Should be brilliant.

I will be taking my stick so you can expect it to feature on photographs as my right knee has given up on me. Started failing on our June trip last year and now it has 'gone' so much that I'm awaiting an appointment to get a new one. Have every intention of making the most of this trip as our usual September trip may have to be put on hold.

Should mention of course, in case you think we've been idle since our last trip, that we have of course been extremely well occupied. 2 week trip (fantastic) to India in February, a 4 day Tandy visit to Cornwall to see sister Rosemary plus lots of other family visiting (our family seems to grow month on month now Bob's grandchildren are getting married and having children of their own). In between times I make and sell my glass and Bob seems to do everything else. Never knew retirement could be so busy.

I'll leave you some photos of the garden, the flowers and birds which fill it with colour and birdsong while I get some shuteye ready for an early start tomorrow. I've also included my latest glass design just because I'm so pleased with it.